Thousands of Lagos commuters who were on their way out of Ikorodu were stranded on Sunday, 4th August, 2019 as many have to make a detour following the unprecedented traffic gridlock into and out of Ikorodu, towards Lagos.
The gridlock, which started from early Sunday morning, continued until late Sunday night, due to the scheduled palliative road rehabilitation work being carried out by the Lagos State Public Works Corporation (LSPWC) on the Mile 12-Kosofe axis of the Ikorodu road.
While the day started like other normal days, not many of the stranded commuters inward and outward Ikorodu division had an inkling of the terrible experience that awaits them on the road on the fateful day.
A resident of Ipakodo and Christian faithful who worships in a Lagos Church recounted her experience to Ikorodu Oga Radio, in a an SMS message sent to Ikorodu Oga Radio, stated that ‘the traffic to Lagos today is too bad. Just because they were repairing Kosofe under bridge, many people, including myself had to turn back. It is too bad’, she said.
A visibly angry resident expressed his frustrations when he queried the reason why the LSPWC decided to expose Lagosians to so much stress and anguish on a Sunday, ‘must government carry out rood repairs during work and peak hours? Why not 11pm till 4am, if only to demonstrate commonsense on the part of Lagos State Public Works Corporation, whose model of reasoning is this?’, he asked.
‘This is criminal. Must the public go through this stress to know that public work department is effective and important? Just to fill potholes, we are subjected to this torture’, another resident noted.
‘As at 4pm in 4th August, 2019, the transport fare from Ketu to Ikorodu which is normally N200 was jacked up to N2, 000 because it took minimum of 6 hours to get to Ketu from Ikorodu, a journey of barely 30 minutes because of the on-going repair of the road, linking Ikorodu to Ketu. Many trekked the hel, out of their lives because, in spite of coughing out N2, 000, the journey still took 6 hours’, submitted an eyewitness.
One man who will not forget the harrowing experience of Sunday traffic is Otunba Ganiyu Abiru, a retired Permanent Secretary and Former Clerk of the Lagos State House of Assembly. He narrated his ordeal thus; ‘my experience yesterday was harrowing and debilitating. I still can’t go out, due to almost 5 hours in the gridlock. I fear if some would not have developed some illness yesterday and probably those who were sick will be worse off, since yesterday. Government was just making people know it is working, albeit in a painful way. Solving one problem by creating another ‘, he noted.
An 84 years old man was so unlucky to have been caught up in the Sunday traffic. The man who came to Ikorodu on a visit from Ikeja lamented a situation where the journey of barely 1 hour took him over 6 hours to get back to his Ikeja base. The octogenarian who pleaded anonymity berated the immediate past governor of the State, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode for leaving the all-important Ikorodu road to deteriorate, while concentrating on less important projects
The Lagos State Public Works Corporation, in a release announced the commencement of palliative works on the failed section of the Ikorodu Mile 12 road, by Mile 12, inward Ketu. It however added that the palliative work will impact on motorists from Ikorodu, while promising that traffic will be diverted at the descent of the Mile 12 bridge to the service lane.
